S2Maui has a real top sailor in Camille Juban and two experienced sail designers in Artur Szpunar and Barry Spanier. The Dragon and Dragon Ultra models are rigged on 370 masts and differ primarily in their choice of materials: Even the standard Dragon model is packed with high-quality carbon and Technora threads, which have been arranged in the direction of load from the outhaul towards the top of the sail, giving the sail an extremely high-quality appearance.
Thin, but solid
With the Dragon Ultra, which is available from 3.8 to 5.6 square metres, S2Maui uses extremely tensile Dyneema fibres, the surrounding foils are then thinner and even lighter. Although the upper part of the material feels as if you could wrap grandma's sausage roll in it - like thick sandwich paper - the sail looks absolutely solid and is not susceptible to creasing. Regardless of the construction method, the Dragon and Dragon Ultra have a narrow mast sleeve and the sails pull very little profile out of the mast sleeve. The sail creates profile further towards the outhaul, the centre of effort is significantly further back than on all other test models in this group. The Hawaii designs were designed to be ridden with only little loose leech, the adjustments to the wind range are then mainly made via the boom trim.
Although the Dragon models are the smallest sails in the test group, they have the longest boom dimensions. This means that they offer plenty of power on the back hand even in light winds, and exceeding the planing threshold is easier than average as the sails load up noticeably. The prerequisite is that the luff and boom are not over-trimmed and only tensioned very moderately. Because the centre of effort has been set far back, you also have to move the harness lines further back. The feather-light ride that you would expect given the nominal weight doesn't really materialise on the straights when fully powered up, as the holding forces are significantly higher. Although the Dragon Ultra feels less bulky, it always seems a little bigger than it actually is when jumping, rotating and manoeuvring due to the long boom.
The sails show their strengths when riding the waves
Dragon and Dragon Ultra clearly have particular strengths when riding waves, no other sail combines a constant pull on the back hand with so much off. If you lay the sails flat in the bottom turn, the profile flattens out at the push of a button. On the way up to the cutback, it then recharges via the back hand, which supports powerful carved turns. These strengths come into their own when surfing powerful waves in combination with little wind - a combination that is not commonplace on the North and Baltic Seas. Conversely, the Dragon concept noticeably reaches its limits in powered-up conditions because, as expected, it doesn't depower as well in strong gusts when rigged with moderate loose leech. The light feeling of the sail is therefore quickly lost in stronger winds, and even before big jumps you often have to back off. Retrimming only leads to a limited improvement here, because if you give the sails more loose leech, the already flat profile at the front becomes even flatter and the sails appear somewhat lifeless.
In direct comparison, the Dragon Ultra offers lower holding power and can tolerate gusts a little better, but here too you have to accept that you will simply have to switch to a smaller sail sooner. The differences between the Dragon and Dragon Ultra can also be felt one-to-one when changing to a different mast. In addition to the Northshore model, S2Maui offers the Peahi with 90 per cent carbon, which is not cheaper but is supposed to be more durable. As you would expect, the 90 per cent mast is not really a downgrade, but delivered an almost similar performance in the test.
Surf summary of the S2Maui Dragon and S2Maui Dragon Ultra 4.9
Both S2 Maui sails are special! If you are travelling to spots with light winds and good swell - Maui, Peru, Brittany etc. - or are looking for wave sails that you can also freestyle with, the Dragon and Dragon Ultra are good options. As all-round sails for strong winds, waves and flat water, both sails simply lack the necessary control. Although the Dragon Ultra is a touch more manageable in the ideal wind range, it only offers a slightly larger wind range for the extra price.
Neutrality, glide power
Wind range
Somewhat trim sensitive
Technical data S2Maui Dragon/S2Maui Dragon Ultra 4.9
Sail weights
- Dragon: 2.88 kg*
- Dragon Ultra: 2.66 kg*
Masts used
- S2Maui Northshore RDM 370; 100 % carbon; 535 Euro
- S2Maui Peahi RDM; 90 % carbon; 535 Euro
Mast weights
- S2Maui Northshore: 1.42 kg*
- S2Maui Peahi: 1.66 kg*
Sleeve opening: 104-154 cm*
Info s2maui.com
*surf measurement
S2Maui Dragon: Available sizes and data
| Size | Luff | Battens | Mast | Boom | Price € |
| 2,7 | 323 | 4 | 340 | 128 | 735/- |
| 3,0 | 336 | 4 | 340 | 134 | 757/- |
| 3,4 | 341 | 4 | 340 | 141 | 774/- |
| 3,8 | 348 | 4 | 340/370 | 147 | 798/968 |
| 4,2 | 364 | 4 | 340/370 | 155 | 831/1002 |
| 4,6 | 383 | 4 | 370 | 162 | 878/1035 |
| 4,9 | 394 | 4 | 370 | 167 | 907/1064 |
| 5,2 | 409 | 4 | 400 | 171 | 931/1096 |
| 5,6 | 415 | 4 | 400 | 178 | 947/1139 |
